Harikeshanallur Dr. L. Mutthaih Bhagavatar (1877-1945 AD) belonging to the shishya parampara of Sri Thyagaraja was a Musician of high repute, expert Musicologist, efficient Teacher, great Scholar, versatile Composer, exponent in Kathakalakshepa, able Administrator and a true Academician.
Bhagavatar visited Mysore Kingdom in the year 1927, and was appointed as the court musician of Mysore during the reign of His Highness Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and continued under His Highness Jaya Chamaraja Wodeyar too. He was also invited by royal family of Tiruvancore to resuscitate the compositions of Maharaja Swati Tirunal and chair the Maharaja Swati Tirunal Academy of Music.
Mutthaih Bhagavatar has to his credit of composing nearly four hundred compositions in Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada and also invented new ragas. Mutthaih Bhagavatar was the first musician to be awarded Doctorate in the field of Music from an Indian University. He was conferred the Doctorate in Music by the University of Tiruvancore in the year 1943 for authoring the treatise Sangita Kalpadrumam on the science of music.